Performance, The Musician
Once, there was a maiden…
…who stood at the center of every dance.
Back then, she knew all the dances.
She never missed a step.
One day, she heard something in the
music, as a singer dropped the beat.
It taught her the joy of dancing poorly.
She started dancing more and more awry.
“Love has no rules,” she said.
Compassionate Essence Replenishment
Cost: None
Duration: Permanent
Type: Special
Minimum Performance: 1
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: None
In many ways, Sidereals become
the central figures in the lives of those around them ― unrecognized,
unknown, but nevertheless, the ones about whom events turn. When they call out
for it, the world returns the love and service they have given it, offering its
Essence to them freely. This Charm draws on the Exalt’s ability to move through
situations without taking overt action, encouraging spirits and the world to
willingly take the actions she desires. It also draws on the sacrifices she
makes, that the world should care for her so. Immediately after a successful
roll using Compassion or immediately after a Performance roll that generated a
significant surge of positive feeling toward the character, the Exalt regains
twice her Compassion in motes of Essence, up to her normal maximum. There is no
cost to use this Charm’s effects ― learning this Charm simply enhances
the Exalt’s capabilities.
Perfection In Life
Cost: 5 motes
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Performance: 2
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: None
Misery fills the world, but it
is an incomplete fate. Characters with this Charm would sketch a life of sorrow
as a broken pattern, full of pain, casting forth strands of effort, desire,
hope and fear that reach for fulfillment. Those strands blunt themselves on
weakness and circumstance but implicitly define the rest of the pattern ―
the perfection that that person’s life could be. The Exalt can manipulate
events to temporarily complete such patterns. This is the dance of Venus. His
words and actions, though apparently mundane, purify and brighten the lives
around him. The cadence of his movements and his speech brings joy to the
world. Though not a dance by normal definitions, his actions radiate an
artistic elegance and precision.
The player rolls Charisma +
Performance. For one scene, the character and everyone he interacts with gains
1 temporary Willpower point. This can increase Willpower past its normal
maximum, but it cannot increase temporary Willpower past the number of
successes rolled. Beneficiaries also feel fulfilled and happy. No character can
gain Willpower from this Charm more than once per day. Sidereal Exalted may
always use their Compassion with this Charm.
Defense Of Shining Joy
Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Performance: 4
Minimum Essence: 3
Prerequisite Charms: Perfection
in Life
Infusing herself with the
Essence of the dance, the character sees the perfect completion to every enemy
attack. Matching her efforts to their own, she avoids
all harm. For the remainder of the scene, the character can reflexively dodge
any physical attack with her full Dexterity + Dodge or Dexterity + Performance
dice pool.
Song Of Spirit Persuasion
Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower
Duration: Instant
Type: Simple
Minimum Performance: 3
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: Perfection
in Life
Singing in the language of the
Old Realm ― which she must, of course, know ― the character answers
the deepest fears and questions in a spirit or elemental’s heart. As with the
dance of Venus, she chooses her words and melody to complete that which is incomplete.
In this fashion, she bends the spirit to her ends.
The Sidereal’s player makes a
Manipulation + Performance roll against the spirit’s Essence. It must be able
to hear the song, although it need not be awake or present. On a success, the
spirit becomes one of the character’s allies. Spending experience points equal
to the spirit’s Essence makes this permanent. Otherwise, the spirit forgets the
Exalt at the end of the story.
Spirits of fire and wood,
embodying life and passion, are particularly vulnerable to this technique. Add
a +2 difficulty penalty when entrancing spirits of earth, water and air.
Faultless Ceremony
Cost: 1 mote + 1 mote per target
number reduction
Duration: One scene
Type: Simple
Minimum Performance: 3
Minimum Essence: 1
Prerequisite Charms: None
The character closes the loose
ends of fate, making a ceremony she participates in perfect and complete in the
eyes of fate and the gods. Betrothals, funerals, banquets and other ceremonies
all qualify. Her player rolls Charisma + Performance (as with a prayer roll)
against a difficulty of (8 – the Resources cost of the ceremony). She adds her
character’s Essence in dice. She may lower the target number of this roll.
Success provides a meaningful bias to fate, particularly in matters relevant to
her caste. Thus, Chosen of Endings can easily arrange a smooth conclusion to a
dead man’s affairs, and the Chosen of Serenity can all but guarantee a couple’s
fertility. Active intervention from antagonists in Heaven or creatures outside
of fate can muddle the result.
Heart-Brightening Presentation Style
Cost: 2 motes per die
Duration: Instant
Type: Supplemental
Minimum Performance: 2
Minimum Essence: 2
Prerequisite Charms: None
Every time an audience’s trust
in the character is about to falter, the Exalt adapts her approach to form a
better answer to its members’ needs and desires. The player can add dice up to
her character’s Essence to Presence, Performance, Bureaucracy and Socialize
rolls. This Charm is explicitly permitted to be used in a Combo with Charms of
other Abilities.
Sidereal Exalted may always use
their Compassion with this Charm.
Harmonic Completion
Cost: 16 motes, 1 Willpower, 1
health level
Duration: Five days
Type: Simple
Minimum Performance: 5
Minimum Essence: 4
Prerequisite Charms: Defense of
Shining Joy, Song of Spirit Persuasion, Faultless Ceremony, Heart-Brightening
Presentation Style
This Charm uses a long prayer
strip marked with the scripture of the Dancer. The character binds it around
her eyes, whereupon it transforms into a band of starmetal and blue jade. (It
still abides by the normal rules for prayer strip destruction.) For the
duration of this effect, the Exalt is genuinely blind and takes a +2 difficulty
penalty on appropriate rolls.
The words of a character
employing Harmonic Completion sound to others like the affirmations and truths
they have waited their entire lives to hear. Each comes across as a measured
antidote to every trouble written in their history and fate. The Exalt receives
a perfect success on all Performance rolls to influence mortals. Anyone, mortal
or Exalted, who does not deliberately tune her out falls in love. Any non-extra
character can reflexively tune her out when he senses this effect. This Charm
imposes a difficulty penalty on all rolls to attack, dodge or otherwise
influence the Sidereal equal to her Performance.